The present invention is generally directed to electrical enclosures and, more particularly, to an electrical enclosure having an improved sealing and shielding component and a method of manufacturing such an electrical enclosure.
Electrical enclosures are widely-used to house electrical components, such as switches. A typical electrical enclosure is a steel structure which includes a base structure and a removable structure, such as a door or cover. The base structure and removable structure are generally secured together in order to form the enclosure which houses the electrical components. One important characteristic of an electrical enclosure is its ability to effectively electromagnetically shield the enclosed components. Another important feature is the enclosures ability to seal the housed electrical components from external conditions, such as dust, rain, snow, ice, etc.
In conventional electrical enclosures, the electrical enclosure is sealed and electromagnetically shielded using a preformed rubber gasket/wire mesh assembly (hereinafter preformed gasket/mesh assembly). A cross section of a conventional enclosure employing a preformed gasket/mesh assembly is shown in FIG. 1. The enclosure generally designated 10 includes a base structure 12 (shown in phantom) and a cover 14. A preformed gasket/mesh assembly 16 is disposed against an outer lip 18 of the cover 14. Typically the gasket/mesh assembly 16 runs adjacent the outer lip 18 about the entire perimeter of the cover 14. The preformed gasket/mesh assembly 16 typically includes a rubber gasket 16a bonded to a wire mesh 16b. The wire mesh 16b typically has a height h which is equal to or greater than the height of the rubber gasket 16a. In manufacturing the enclosure 10, an adhesive 20 is typically applied to the bottom of the rubber gasket 16a and the preformed gasket/mesh assembly 16 is laid down by hand against the outer lip 18 of the cover 14.
Conventional electrical enclosures such as those exemplified by FIG. 1 are typically associated with a number of shortcomings. For example, these conventional electrical enclosures often fail to adequately seal the enclosed electrical components under more harsh weather conditions. In addition, the assembling of conventional electrical enclosures is typically expensive. The high cost stems from both the high cost of manufacturing the preformed gasket/mesh assembly itself as well as the labor intensive manufacturing process used to adhere the preformed gasket/mesh assembly to the electrical enclosure.
The present invention generally provides an electrical enclosure having an improved sealing and shielding component and a method of manufacturing such an enclosure. The improved sealing and shielding component can, for example, improve the sealing of the electrical enclosure as compared to conventional electrical enclosures. The present electrical enclosure may, for example, also reduce the cost of manufacturing electrical enclosures.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method of manufacturing an electrical enclosure is provided. Consistent with this method, a wire mesh is positioned against the surface of the enclosure. While the wire mesh is positioned against the enclosure surface, a foam is formed on the enclosure surface adjacent the wire mesh. The foam generally adheres to the enclosure surface and holds the wire mesh in place. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the foam has a height equal to or greater than the height of the wire mesh.
An electrical enclosure, consistent with an embodiment of the invention, includes a structure having a base surface with a perimeter and an edge around the perimeter. The enclosure further includes a wire mesh disposed on the base surface, the wire mesh being disposed apart from the edge of the structure so as to form a channel between the wire mesh and the edge. A foam is disposed in the channel and over a part of the wire mesh. The foam adheres to the base surface and holds the wire mesh in place. The electrical enclosure structure may, for example, be a cover of the electrical enclosure. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the foam has a height which is greater than the height of the wire mesh.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. The figures and the detailed description which follow more particularly exemplify these embodiments.